Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Dan Hannan's opt-outs

In the Mail this morning Dan Hannan sets out how he would revise the terms of our EU membership. Let's leave aside for a moment Richard North's key point that technically the UK needs to have given notice to leave before we can re-negotiate terms, which would require an in-out referendum. Hannan writes:

What should Britain ask for in such negotiations?

There is little doubt that we’d want to opt out of the non-economic aspects of membership. We’d want to settle our own human rights issues. We’d want to control our own borders, deciding whether or not to allow unrestricted access to EU nationals. We’d want to determine our own employment legislation. We’d want to set our own welfare rules. We’d want to run our own foreign policy, separate from the new EU diplomatic corps, the Common External Action Service. We’d want to control our own agricultural policy, instead of being forced to subsidise our farmers’ Continental competitors as we have for so long. We’d want sovereign control over our own fishing grounds, out to 200 miles or the median line between our coastline and a neighbouring state’s, as allowed by maritime law. We’d want our Euro officials, including our MEPs, to be released into more productive jobs. (Speaking personally, I will breathe a deep sigh of relief on the day my job disappears.) And, of course, we’d want to stop paying for the whole EU racket.

And this is how Hannan's re-negotiated treaty would impact on the EU's competencies (clicky to read);

Hmmm. That still leaves an awful lot; it could be that Hannan included them in his submission but they were chopped by a zealous sub. Or maybe that's just official Conservative policy? Personally, I'd push for a revision that, for the UK, pushed every single one of the listed competencies into the 'Supporting Competence' box. Or be rid of them altogether. Why not?

Out and out now, renegotiation is a pipedream, or a sop to the euro-sceptics in the Tory ranks. Tory boys and gals - who always come round anyway [Hannan]...because they like the money far too much and being part of the political elitists to bother with principle and actually the interests and security of this nation.

Slowly, incrementally at first ever so slowly over 40 years but now the pace has quickened so much faster; the EU, has and is strangling the remaining dregs of life out of England.

How the Gaullists, Vichy, Gramscian school social engineers and German landed elite envied us and hated us. But now, they can have the last laugh, England is no more - see it for yourself - 4 million? 5,6-7 million [in 15 years], is a more realistic figure and the birth rate - not booming but exploding.I think Hannan - is too little too late, Gove has the right idea.